


Broken Bots

by almosthuman_butnotquite



Series: Jet Rush [7]
Category: Fallout 3
Genre: Broken Robots, Drabble, Grouchy scavengers, Humor, M/M, Thatchery is a dork and Leo hates fixing robots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-24
Updated: 2016-03-24
Packaged: 2018-05-28 21:32:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6346156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/almosthuman_butnotquite/pseuds/almosthuman_butnotquite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Why did he have to be volunteered for these things?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Broken Bots

**Author's Note:**

> I ran into this guy near the Nuka-Cola factory and I remembered that I said Leo did maintenance on a Handy on one of his caravan routes. So I thought: Who better to fix a Handy than a guy who actually knows what he's doing instead of a vault kid who can really only tote a gun and fix your wounds?

Thatchery had insisted on exploring the area north of Megaton. Leo knew what he was trying to do. He didn't want to be eased back into the adventures and killing dangerous things life. He didn't want that life back. He happened to like running the Lantern, happened to like Megaton.

But Thatchery was the wandering type, with the soles of his boots wearing thin and his body lean from walking all day. If he wanted Leo to go with him, he would go with. He wanted Thatchery to be happy. He was always singing when Leo went with him, always so excited to point out things he said were swell.

They happened upon a scavenger with a Mister Handy. The man was speaking to the robot, angry and frustrated, talking about something wrong with it. The robot was speaking too, but none of it made sense.

"Something wrong with your robot?" Thatchery called to the man.

The man turned to look at them. "I've been wondering that for about an hour now. I think it's stuck in some sort of loop. I tried fixin' it, but all those switches and circuits are beyond me."

Thatchery blew a bubble in his gum. "He could try to fix that robot for you."

Leo frowned. Why did he have to be volunteered for these things? "Thatch, I don't know if I can."

He laughed and shook his head, his curls bouncing. "Nonsense, Leo!"

"If you can get it working right again, I have a couple energy cells you can have. Just tell me when you're done."

Thatchery hummed and blew another large bubble. "Y'know, that's a pretty complicated job."

"Well, I guess it's fair to throw in a hundred caps if he can fix it, plus the two energy cells."

Leo sighed and opened the robot's casing. It appeared to be stuck in a diagnostic loop, making it believe it was the robot to a family and that it was inside of the family's home. Leo handed his rifle to Thatchery and shrugged the back from his shoulder.

"What is it?" Thatchery asked, standing on his toes to try and see inside the casing.

"Ah, it's just a little diagnostic issue. Something must have knocked a couple of wires loose." He reached for the disconnected wires and stripped the coverings off of the ends with his pocketknife. He reconnected them properly and closed the Handy's casing. "There we go."

Thatchery was beaming at him, his eyes sparkling in the sunlight.

"You're robot's working fine now," Leo said.

"Thanks. Nice to meet a fellow mechanic out here in the Wasteland. Here's your payment."

Thatchery scoffed as soon as the scavenger was out of earshot. "'Fellow mechanic'? That asshole didn't even know what any of the circuits were for, what was vital to the operating system."

Leo lifted Thatchery's wrist and dropped the pouch of caps into his palm. "It doesn't matter, does it? You've got a hundred more caps." He picked up his pack and took his rifle back. "It wasn't hard or anything."

Thatchery handed the caps back. "You did the work, you keep the caps." He winked. "Buy yourself something pretty."

Leo laughed until his sides hurt. Maybe he didn't want his old lifestyle back, but wandering with Thatchery wasn't so bad. Maybe he could get used to toting a rifle again just to have an excuse to spend more time with this stubborn vault kid.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are appreciated.
> 
> I also have a [tumblr](http://almosthuman-butnotquite.tumblr.com) if anyone is interested in hitting me up.


End file.
